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ROCK HILL -- York County authorities say that for the second straight day, they had to rescue an allegedly intoxicated boater from the Catawba River.
The most recent incident happened Thursday near River-Walk Park, north of Rock Hill. It follows a case Wednesday, in which crews from the York County Sheriff’s Office and other agencies rescued a 15-year-old from Pineville who had fallen off a raft into the river.
The 15-year-old and a 21-year-old man from Rock Hill face alcohol-related charges in that incident.
In Thursday’s case, the sheriff’s office says witnesses reported seeing a man hanging on to an overturned canoe in the Catawba River near the Interstate 77 bridge shortly before 4 p.m.
A deputy spotted the man near the park’s boat launch area and said the man was using profanity and refusing to come to the shore. A short time later, deputies say, witnesses reported seeing the man trying to sink the canoe, and they said he had gone under the water several times.
A deputy spotted the man soon afterward and ordered him to come out of the river. Authorities say the man refused, saying he would be arrested if he climbed up the river bank. The man also used profanity at the deputy, saying he did not believe the deputy actually was a law enforcement officer.
Eventually, authorities say, they were able to pull the man from the river with a rope. They say the man had a large unsealed bottle of liquor, smelled of alcohol, and had a difficult time maintaining his balance.
Kevin Feather, 40, of Fort Mill, was charged with public disorderly conduct and violating state alcohol laws by having an open container.
